Days are getting shorter, nights crisper, and mornings foggy. Apples and pears are beginning to fall, and I am presented with a quandary I never thought I would encounter… Cider: to ferment or not to ferment, that is the question.
Two years ago this question would not have been asked — obviously, I would make cider. Just to be effervescently clear, I do not mean apple juice as Americans have been brainwashed and hyper-marketed into referring to as cider when it’s really just hazy apple juice. No, I mean what the rest of the world means when they say cider — juice from apples that has been fermented, the sugar transformed into alcohol. In the past it would have been a given that our excess apples would be cidered. This year things are different, mostly because of this little nursery rhyme trio right here – the three little piggies.
This trio of bacon boys loves apples and pears. They practically do backflips for them. And they’re not alone either. Our small resident deer population regularly makes the trek into the yard in the late evening or early morning hours to dine on dropped apples all the way up to the beginning of hunting season. As do the coyotes, rabbits, and, well everything right on down to the wasps*. These creatures are all tuned into the changes in the weather signaling that their best food sources are about to disappear for the winter, so they gobble up every rich source of energy they can to store up reserves for the long dark season. Even our feather pigs (chickens) are currently in the habit of gathering in the corners of their pasture fence whenever we walk by, eagerly anticipating an apple or two gathered from one of the nearby trees. Within seconds such treats disappear under bobbing heads and not even the cores will be found in the next day.
The big piggies gobble up these tasty sugar balls regardless of what the coming winter holds for them. Apples and pears are always the first thing they go for whenever we bring them treats, with the only close contender being ears of sweet corn that we haven’t managed to eat ourselves before beginning to turn starchy. They have even turned up their snouts at me at the sight of perfectly good sweet beets as if to say “what, no apples?”
“Please Sir, I want some more APPLES!”
Last year, perhaps due to the discombobulation of lockdown fever, I somehow managed to let the season come and go without making any cider and the prior year’s fermentations were infected with brettanomyces, not unsafe to drink but terribly sour and fit only for the making of cleaning vinegar. I do miss a good winter cider session, that perfect balance of sweet and sour, the dramatic effect of a few berries in the brew, and the sparkle of just a touch of natural carbonation. Add a dog or two by the fire, and you’ve got the perfect winter evening.
But since we are committed to giving these pigs a wide and diverse diet to encourage their good health and happiness, the flow of pears and apples are a convenient bounty and supplement to animal feed that comes at no additional cost. Right now, feeding stock and saving money is a priority. So far the trees are still heavy with fruit and more drops to the ground than I can usually manage to collect and feed out every day. Hopefully sometime in the next month, between developing dense layers of fat for the winter or rich, dark egg yolks from the feather pigs (chickens) and the requisite gallon of apple chips, these farmers will find the time to tuck a few gallons of magic juice into a dark corner of the shop.
These Liberty apples are small, but our tastiest by far. Some are eaten fresh, with the remainder made into apple chips for snacking throughout the year.
This tree has multiple varieties of European pears grafted onto it. The quality this year is excellent, despite our dry summer.
This Asian pear does not produce as consistently as the others. Last year - no fruit. This year - bonanza!
*People around here often correct me and sometimes laugh when I refer to the “yellow jackets” as wasps, but I have noticed over the last two years that they do not respond to the yellow jacket pheromones provided with commercial traps. They do, however, respond very well to wasp pheromones, leading me to believe that they are in fact wasps, or else very confused yellow jackets.